HAVERFORD -- That the Haverford School is in the midst of the two most successful swim seasons in program history is certainly remarkable.

After never having finished higher than sixth at the Eastern Interscholastic Championships, the Fords placed third last season. They've followed that up with their best dual-meet record since 1965 this season.

But perhaps most impressive, among the accolades and the trophies, are the types of swimmers that have led the charge for the Fords. It isn't just a specialist here or a prodigy from the pipeline there. Instead, coach Sean Hansen has crafted a group of versatile swimmers through a unique training program ... and the results speak for themselves.

That will be on display again today and Saturday as Haverford School tests its mettle at the 113th annual Easterns, hosted by La Salle University.

Last year's charge was led by All-Delcos Andrew Helber and Conor O'Prey. This year, it'll be senior All-Delco Jimmy Jameson and junior Dan McGrath at the forefront. For the quartet of talented swimmers, the common thread is versatility.

Helber, a backstroker and individual medalist, and O'Prey, who did the odd double of the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke last season at Easterns, had the versatility to cover most of the program.

This season, McGrath will undertake the unusual program of the 50 free and 100 breast. Jameson, meanwhile, is entered his hallmark event, the 100 fly, and the 100 free; he also took down Helber's home pool record for the 100 back in the season finale.

The reason for the versatility -- and as a consequence, the success -- is Hansen's emphasis on IM-based training. The majority of the work his swimmers do in practice comes as a team, working all four strokes.

"We train a lot of IM base, and we'll do a lot of stuff where we get the heart rate up pretty significantly doing IM," Hansen said. "And then we'll get into some stroke work, and a lot of times it's strong-stroke, weak-stroke stuff. I'm a huge proponent of training IM."

At a meet like Easterns, one of the most decorated in the country, Hansen's ideology is put to the test. There are those, like legendary Germantown Academy coach Dick Shoulberg, who espouse distance, distance and more distance. There are others who stress technique above all else. Suffice it to say there are few who embrace the mantra of weak-stroke work as much as Hansen and co. Combine that with dryland training that helps refine and build the muscle movements associated with each stroke, and you've got a passel of all-around specialists.

It's a refreshingly egalitarian view: Not only do the Fords stave off the usual striation of swimmers into groups like sprint, distance and stroke, but they also work hard to level out the imbalances in swimmers' individual strokes to make sure all four can stand on the same high level.

"The majority of our training, 80 percent of our training is together as a team, day-in and day-out," assistant coach Brendan Jones said. "And of that 80 percent of training, 50 percent is IM training where we're training all four strokes. So there's not a day where we're not touching on everybody's weak stroke. We make it an emphasis some days to only work on weak stroke only as much as we work on strong stroke."

The results were clear a season ago. In addition to the team of Helber, Jameson, O'Prey and Matt Luminais setting a county record in the 200 medley relay, O'Prey finished second in the 100 fly and third in the 100 breast. Helber was seventh in the 200 IM and third in the 100 back. Those two are continuing their careers at Pitt and Princeton, respectively.

Each trod unique paths up and down Lancaster Avenue. O'Prey came from the yards-based background of the Ridley Y program, the same one from which the Glenolden native McGrath ventured. Helber was new to swimming altogether; his ability to be an IMer sprung from a barely legal breaststroke three years ago.

Jameson presents perhaps the most intriguing case. A transfer from New Trier High School outside of Chicago, Jameson knows what it's like to be in a yards-based program. And New Trier's is one of the best in the country, ranked No. 2 overall by Swimming World Magazine last year and the top public school that has spawned such talents as Reed Malone (USC), Max Grodecki (Missouri) and Nick Kileen (Michigan).

While his time with New Trier undoubtedly laid the foundation on which Hansen has built, it's this program that has helped him blossom.

"Sean's really big into IM for the purpose that not everyone's strong in every stroke," said Jameson, who was third in the 100 fly last season and 11th in the 100 free. He'll compete in both of those events again this year.

"You really have to work yourself to do these really hard IM practices. We understand that you can't just have a freestyler, because when it comes down to it at Easterns, there's only so many events for each person. To have that versatility and be able to move around for what's best for the team is important. We don't really have a couple people. When you look down the roster, we have a lot of guys who have multiple strong strokes."